Reviewed by USGS75y ago
M6.5 earthquake in Fiji region
Tuesday, June 10, 1952, 09:58:32 UTC · 15.443°S, 178.713°W
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Tuesday, June 10, 1952, 09:58:32 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on September 22, 1950.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
76 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 160 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
8 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Futuna and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 264 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 288 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9130 km ENE of Labasa, FijiDecember 26, 1949 · 102 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8Fiji regionSeptember 22, 1950 · 287 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7179 km ENE of Levuka, FijiJune 21, 1928 · 214 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7139 km S of Alo, Wallis and FutunaJanuary 1, 1922 · 43 km E of this epicenter
- 6.584 km S of Alo, Wallis and FutunaMay 31, 1907 · 65 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.598 km NE of Labasa, FijiJuly 12, 1923 · 145 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1919M6.9
Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu
3 Oct 1919 · 174 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1884
Macuata
Jan 1884 · 253 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 286 km away
- 1881
Fiji Islands
12 Jul 1881 · 253 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.